Tag Archives: Hulu

When I initially heard that Fox had cut the cord on our Fangirly Favorite The Mindy Project, my reaction was more or less what you might expect. I sold all my earthly possessions, joined a doomsday cult, and settled in for the End of Days. But from the midst of tragedy, an unlikely hero emerged, destined to redeem us all from a Mindy-less existence. Yes, people, ya heard. Hulu will be picking up Kaling’s brain-baby and giving it new life online.

And this isn’t the first time that a streaming service has needed to step in to save a beleaguered series. Yahoo adopted Community and Netflix resurrected Arrested Development (with debatable success, but still). Not only are these sites delivering really strong, occasionally award-winning, original content to subscribers, they are salvaging the network underdogs that struggle to perform and bringing them back from the dead.

Ok, I’m not an idiot. I know that Hulu probably isn’t doing this out of altruism or some media-messiah complex. They probably stand to make a lot of money from this deal and I have no doubt that the switch will be marketed aggressively. But the fact stands that Hulu is taking a chance on this amazing little show written by and starring one of the only non-white female leads on TV. Ever. Meanwhile, networks are giving us Boy Meets World reboots and a Full House made-for-TV-movie.

This all leads me to ask, do we really need networks? Or are the a relic that is desperately trying to recapture the magic of ten, twenty, thirty years ago? Most shows are available online anyway, and even HBO is offering a streaming service for much less than your exorbitant cable package. As a representative of a generation that watches most of it’s TV online anyway, it’s not a very hard question.

What do you think? Hit us up at fangirlyfangirls@gmail.com, or @fangirly2, and give us what you got.

As I write this post, I am marathoning The Mindy Project, mainly because I wanted to re-watch Danny and Mindy’s mounting sexual tension, but also in preparation for the new season. I am using my Hulu Plus account for this marathon and I have a complaint. Unlike most Hulu users, I have gotten over the fact that I have to watch commercials on a service for which I am paying. (Okay, actually, confession: I log into my mom’s account for which she pays, but my complaints are still valid).

So, no, I don’t care that I have to watch commercials, I care that I have to watch the same commercials. Over. And over. I realize that I am bound to see some repeats when I watch 15 episodes of The Mindy Project in a row, but can’t Hulu spring for more than 4 commercials? I swear, if I have to watch that Honda Fit commercial with Nick Thune one more time, I am going to toss my work computer out the window, then I’m going to get fired and it is bound to turn into this whole thing and then my unemployment will be on your conscience, Hulu. Can you deal with that? I can’t imagine that you don’t have various products (that I will never buy) that don’t want to be on your service, so please, on behalf of all of us who have a TV-watching problem, get some more commercials

The hipster in me loves finding new delights from across the pond. “It’s some show, you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s British.” Or even better, when the show inevitably gets adapted for American audiences, I can say, “The British version was better.” (See: Coupling, The Office, Sherlock, Da Ali G Show, Being Human, Trading Spaces, What Not to Wear, etc.). Of course, the Anglophile in me, also loves saying that last one.

Now, when the awfully funny Spy gets adapted for American TV, don’t you want to be a cool kid, too? Well, you can be because it’s on Hulu. In case, Hulu hasn’t already gotten you with their incessant self-promotion, let’s see if I can sway you.

Spy is about the unassuming Tim Elliot, a man who is always trying to impress his ambitious and genius son, Marcus. To up his game, Tim decides to get a better job and accidentally applies to be an MI-6 agent. The show becomes part workplace comedy, complete with the kooky boss and office crush, and part family comedy as Tim fights his ex-wife and her new boyfriend for custody of Marcus.

This show is so rife with hilarious characters that I have a hard time picking my favorite. Is it Marcus, who runs gambling rackets out of his bedroom or runs his student council with the kind of iron fist that would make Stalin cower? Or maybe it is Tim’s boss, known only as The Examiner, who eagerly awaits his next torture and opportunity to impress Tim? It could be Tim’s friend, Chris, who could be a lawyer but finds it easier to just hack bank accounts.

Just check out the first episode below already. Of course, I’m mourning the fact that the second season just ended and it will undoubtedly be another year before the third season starts. Crazy Brits and their weird TV programming schedules.

Confession time: The Office is not one of my favorite shows. Not that it’s a bad show, I just felt that it got boring and repetitive as the series progressed. So when I heard that Mindy Kaling, a writer, exec-producer, and one of the stars of The Office, was developing her own show, I didn’t pay much attention. Also, I don’t really love self-referential show titles, so the fact that the show was named The Mindy Project was not a huge turn on either.

Then I actually watched the pilot. And let me tell you, it was awesome. It accomplished everything a pilot should accomplish; it introduced the characters, delivered a hilarious and compelling narrative, and gave us an idea of what the rest of the series would be like. I know what your thinking. “Whitney, an awesome pilot doesn’t necessarily indicate an awesome show”. To which I would respond, “Oh yeah? OH YEAH?!… That’s actually very true. Good point.” But I’ve got a good feeling about this one. So do yourself a favor, haul on over to Hulu, and watch the pilot of The Mindy Project. It might just be the funniest 23 minutes of your day.